The Mets Bullpen Is Full Of Sensitive Gentlemen
One of the very few things that kept me from becoming a professional ball player - aside from things such as lacking talent, or decent build, or motivation, and only scoring a 22 on my baseball IQ test - was my fragile ego. All rookies must go through a period of hazing and I wanted none of it.
But when it happens to others, it’s pretty funny.
Technically, Mets’ side-arming reliever Joe Smith is no rookie. But at the age of 24, he’s still the youngest member of the Mets bullpen, which apparently makes him fair game.
Last month, closer Billy Wagner presented Joe with a gift - his very own pink Hello Kitty backpack. And Joe was told to wear it every time he made the trip from the dugout to the bullpen (photo courtesy of Rants and Raves).
But that’s not all, folks. The bag also sits in the pen during the game and apparently actually has stuff inside. Here, we have a picture of Tony Armas Jr. breaking many manly codes by reaching into a pink Hello Kitty backpack to fetch a bottle of lotion. In a Major League Bullpen (photo courtesy of SportingNews.com).
Yeah. I wouldn’t have lasted a week in a big league clubhouse.
July 9th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
The Yankees have the same hazing ritual…it’s the newest call-up to the bullpen that’s relegated to the duty of carrying the pink bag. Maybe Wagner stole the idea from them…like he stole “Enter Sandman” from Mariano. (I find the fact that he used it before Mo irrelevant when it comes to using it in New York.)
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July 9th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Nate, if you know (correctly) that Wagner used it before Mo did, then how exactly can you argue that Wagner “stole” it? The two points don’t connect, man.
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July 10th, 2008 at 4:43 am
That’s brilliant. Glad to see my Mets have that sensitive side. And as you say Paul, pretty darn funny when it’s somebody else that has to go through it. I wonder if there’s a pink Hello Kitty Flask inside with which to hydrate himself between innings?
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July 10th, 2008 at 7:42 am
Actually, the Red Sox do this too. I think it maybe one of those timeless hardball rituals whose origins are now lost in the hazy deeps of history.
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July 10th, 2008 at 10:24 am
The cubs do the same thing too - the backpack is usually full of sunflower seeds and gum.
Looks like the Twins do it too - Pat Neshek auctioned off the old backpack on his blog http://www.eteamz.com/patneshek/index.cfm? (May 21st.)
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